Published
Tue, Feb 15, 2022, 13:40
- The company managing the building gave the crew 28 days to leave their studio.
The Hague radio station Future Intel is facing eviction after being labelled not "culturally relevant."
Earlier this month, the non-profit organisation was given 28 days to vacate its ninth-floor studio. (As of today, February 15th, only two weeks remain.) The Dutch government, which recently purchased the building, tasked a company with managing the property and demanding occupants prove their activities as "culturally relevant" in order to stay.
Future Intel founders Zamba-Jan Bakana, Mounir Gros and Olivier van Driel told Resident Advisor that they provided extensive evidence to prove their cultural relevance, but their application was rejected. A follow-up email asking for the decision to be revoked was also "bluntly rejected," they said.
Zamba said the "stigma" attached to electronic music artists—"that we all get shit-faced"—hasn't helped the situation. Neither has a complaint to the police in the aftermath of a broadcast while another group held a rave in a different part of the building.
"When the rules allow, we invite a small group of artists and their friends to connect while they watch a show we're broadcasting," he said. "We'd understand if the decision was substantiated, but we feel we've not been taken seriously. We don't plan to give up on our space so easily after two years of hard work."
The eviction will be raised at a council meeting in April. "It could be that we're out in two weeks but they vote us to come back in April," said Gros. "If that doesn't happen, then we'll have a tough time looking for another place because there's not much around."
Gros said the government has plans for the building but the permits and plans could take several years. "It would be such a waste to leave this place if it stays empty. We'll never find anything so exceptional like it again. It's helping us make a pathway into the future. It's been a red carpet for us."
Four Dutch political parties are also helping fight the eviction. "I have no idea why the state and the anti-squatting company are acting the way they do," former squatter Peter Bos, who now leads political party Haagse Stadspartij, told RA. "We're a political party that supports cultural organisations, especially those operating in an underground/cutting edge scene."
He added: "Future Intel is part of The Hague's famous electronic music scene, we should be proud of them."
A petition to save Future Intel has already reached over 50 percent of its 3000-signature target. The station has been broadcasting live electronic sets and collaborating with record labels and other collectives for the past two years.
The building previously belonged to Dutch telephone company KPN, with Future Intel occupying the former boardroom. The studio offers a panoramic view of The Hague thanks to huge floor-to-ceiling windows.
Watch Lena Willikens performing in 2020.
RA approached the Dutch government for comment but received no response at the time of publication.